Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-06-02

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RESCUE.
ssStory," he broke in, ''why every life is
a storyl Scarcely man or woman
especially one who has been out alone in
the world as 1 have-but has story in
his own experience that would make
romance turn pale i'll it's presence mean
a real romance. Realities are more
startling You would hardly believe me
when tell you it-but there's no one else
to tell tive seen more glad meetings
and sad partings than Shakespeare or
Dickens ever mentioned. It's matter
of common experience to see young girl
leave home in short dresses and come
back with a baby carriage, or boy re-
turn grown to manhood, or casket car
ried away silently from the same train at
one station that takes on double couple
of newly ma rried at another.
"You see," he continued, tive get novels
and romances long before any one else
even the papers. While the wires are
telling of dreadful accident and terrible
suffering, or glad reunions. we walk up
and look the grim monster or the joy
giver right in the face. We see the
smiles and tears, joys and SORROWS, at the
fountain! The real article and no second
hand descriptions.
take young man that starts out West
with a slazy suit and oil-cloth sachel,
works away in the mines, accumulates
fortune, marries and goes home in
golden car with silver lining, and happy
trimmed family-a lucky fellow. That's
about all the romance there is in this
Western country. Take out the love
stories-good enough to such as like
them, but nothing like the romances OF
reality, and incidents are by far the most
lar NJ rh
west on No. 9S. 1t was dark and rainy
and late in the fall. young fellow came
around on the side opposite the depot and
looked up with such a pleading glance
that I pitied him, and knew what he
wanted without asking. He said few
words about offering to help work his
way, and with look meaning: will you
keep silence2 to my fireman, we took him
on just to hear his story. He was going
home dead broke. Not from want of en-
ergy. He had worked hard. The climate
did not suit him. Some one swindled him
in bogus mine, and he had put up his
baggage and started home on foot, hum
dreds of miles and out of money.
sit was a case of luck. He turnel up
on the wrong side; one must fall that an
other should win. That's the rule the
world over.
That young fellow was brim full of in
cidents-told where men went TO the mines
paupers and secured low places and final
" struck rich lead and went with the
tide richer than the richest OF the neigh
borhood.
HE was on the Clara Belle, that left
| San Francisco in the fall Of '52, with
million gold on board in bullion. His
| story of that trip was immense. l could
| have listened all night We let him off at
four with it not quite completed"
| "Will you just give me the run of the
! storya"
| "Wen, as near as the matter comes back
| to me now it was like this: The whole
coast was then newly settling up with
hard characters. There was gang OF
some two hundred in and about Frisco
and some of them knew of the gold ship
ment to Philadelphia and determined tt
capture it. About twenty took passage
of the hard class-regular SIX shooters
at sight, all of them. The captain OF the
Clara Belle must have stood in with some
of the gang who planned mutiny abou
half way to San Diego. The landing wa!
near by and they thought to run the Belle
ashore and wreck her, taking thei
chances of life for the glittering chanc'
riches from the cargo. They selected ;
stormy night and very dark one. A
about the right hour-two in the mornin!
they held up the captain and officers
ordered the boat turned, shoreward ant
guarded the gangways and stairway
with drawn weapons, and began to terrif1
the passengers by firing revolvers in thu
air. AS they woke up and heard the dis
turbance many wlted and all were badl.
frightened. They gave out word that per
feet submis sion meant protection, but an.
attempt to interfere would mean death
and although the boat was loaded by nea
three hundred men, no one dared too
no one did-interfere just then. TIL
women first began to show fear, but sool
braced up and were the coolest of tn
| ship-load. The roughs were armed and or
ganized the others were not just befor
daylight the boat ran aground some hal
| mile from shore, in shallow water o.
rocky bottom, and broke to pieces enough
to leak badly and settle up to the frs
cabin, letting the cattle, sheep and lowe
load into the water. The live stock mad
for shore in a little drove, some sinkin
and going down, others reaching the rock
bank in safety. The main body Of tn
wreck was above water and saved tn
crew till life-boats and RATS could carr
them ashore. But it was terrible scene
every one, even animals, working TO
: shore with extra energy. The foatin
mass was going from the wreck; the cal
tie swimming round and round-the f1ou
barrels, life-preservers and pieces c
} planks forming grand cavalcsde to tn
rocky beach, which, when they reache
it, was absolutely barren and dry, wit
neither food nor shelter.
"Four or five days the whole crew la
there with little food and less prospect {
2 deliverance. The flour barrels wer
broken, such as floated on shore, and fire
were kindled from the wet stave
. and slivers. sea shells were use
as spoons, the earth and rocl
for tables and chairs, and, strange to sa.
e the hardest men became less like mo-
sters and more human; there they wer
q nearly as nude as nature. The crew hel
I a meeting and resolved on signals, whic
a were kept up in relays. At the end OF
week a vessel hailed in sight-not befol
q many were half famished and starved
|. and rescued the crew and shot the hal
famished animals which presented a pitif
e picture walking up and down the mario
T. bank, and vainly seeking for somethir
to eat. Early means were taken to ARE
J. the robbers, some of whom had escape
into the mountains, and others were ca
4 ried back; one or two had been shot in
-frow on shore and buried in the sand; Il
It | rem ainder were duly taken to Frisco
d punt shment, but we never heard OF the
[e trial or conviction"
n ssThats really strange story" I
Of marked.
a1,,1a oct ron